December 24 – 2007

Questions and comments for this issue:

+ Terry Collinson on Stillness Trainings
+ Is fibromyalgia similar to chronic fatigue?
+ How do I get a mentor?
+ Question about shingles.

Hello John,

Apparently it’s the season to be jolly – I
didn’t realise I was out of step the rest of the
year.  If you know what I’m supposed to be doing
in the other seasons, can you let me know.

So in the spirit of the season, here’s a little
gift for you. john@wellnessda.com

No, don’t thank me, it’s all part of the
service and as I said ’tis the season.  Why is
everything to do with Christmas in Olde English?
‘Hark, tis the postman.  I see him on yonder
hill.’

Anyway pop that little beauty, john@wellnessda.com
in your email address books and when I send you
updates from my Wellness Detective Agency they
won’t bounce off your spam filter and you will
actually get them.

Updates from my what I hear you ask.  Well the
notion of being your own Wellness Detective is
gathering momentum and to keep up with it my
website has become a resource for people who are
taking responsibility for their health and
happiness.

It starts with adopting the perspective that
nothing in your life happens by accident. If
nothing is random then everything is a clue.  As
well as the Wellness Detective Agency email
updates, in the New Year I will be releasing audio
and video segments too.

http://www.WellnessDA.com/

Speaking of gift giving, if you are looking for
a present for the person who has everything, then
you could always about get them a personal genome
map.  All you need is a swab from the inside of
the mouth and $1000 USD. https://www.23andme.com/

Aw, you shouldn’t have.  No really, you
shouldn’t have.

Anyhu, let’s get on with the
mailbag.  The first letter is from Terry Collinson
of stillness trainings.  I really like the way she
talks about the training she teaches with Brendan
Pitwood from New Zealand.

***TERRY’S LETTER***

Hi John,

Lovely to hear from you. Hope all is well with you
and your new life in Ireland.

Our training (Stillness Trainings) began early
this year with 12 wonderful students.  They are
loving the teaching and the work and Brendan and I
are heartened with our efforts and with the way it
is all going.

We put in place so many aspects to nurture and
support the students learning and process, as well
as that of the teaching team.  As you know the
teaching is of the ‘biodynamic’ approach, but we
also keep it very pure and true to Paul’s teaching
of Resonance, plus our development or deepening of
being in relationship from Brendan’s training with
Ray Castellino (pre and perinatal psychology).

We are lucky to have four assistants who graduated
in Australia with Resonance Trainings – Sarah,
Tanya, Michelle and Glenn.  We spend two days
before each seminar to grow ourselves as a team
and our own process so that we are ‘healthy’ and
bonded and are able to deeply support each other
and so then the group.

Because of our course/school accreditation with
PACT we have added nutrition to the teaching, and
we decided to add applied pathology throughout the
course, which as added a great dimension to the
work we had not foreseen.

Thank you for your encouragement and support to go
ahead and teach what I/we have to offer.

with love
Terry

***QUESTION***

Hello John

Your website is simply brilliant! I don’t know why
I hadn’t seen it before.

I am a newly qualified craniosacral therapist
(biodynamic model) and the info on the student
newsletter is very helpful. I have a new client
with Fiobromyalgia and wondered what tips you had
for working with this?

I feel this condition is similar in some respects
to chronic fatigue ME with the reduced thresholds.
I have a sense that facilitated segments also have
a role here.

Working with stillness is so wonderful but this
isn’t always possible initially as the person and
their system needs to be met where they are.

I qualified in July and want to develop my skills
and experience by doing an apprenticeship of sorts
by working alongside a very skilled and
experienced CST practitioner. I have been trying
to find a host practitioner to do this in the UK
but my enquiries have drawn a blank as people
appear not to want anyone else within their client
space. I am a CSTA UK member.

Any suggestions please?

Do you do any student mentoring yourself?

I look forward to your reply.

Many thanks for a very useful website.

DP
U.K.

MY COMMENTS:

Thank you for your kind words about my
websites.  I’m glad you found them helpful.

I have found often the root of Fibromyalgia can
be located in the cerebro spinal fluid itself.  It
has a particular quality to it.  A bit like static
electricity or fizz in the cerebro spinal fluid.
When the person has an ‘attack’ this static-fizz
quality can be felt radiating out along the nerve
pathways, particularly the intercostal nerves.

I have found the underlying root cause can be
similar to chronic fatigue in so much as they both
put the persons life on hold.

The similarity stops there as the mechanics feel
different to me.  Fibromyalgia has a much more
aggressive quality.  There is usually a lot of
pain involved and this sets up a very different
dynamic within the person than chronic fatigue.

As I think about the people I have treated with
Fibromyalgia, what they all have in common is that
the root cause has nearly always been very core.
So while it important to work with the physical
and emotional expressions of the disharmony,
without addressing the core issue, the results
will be temporary at best.

I know – core stuff – heavy jelly – who needs
it?  Such is our work.  Best not to resist it and
know that if you couldn’t help they wouldn’t have
come to you.
How’s that for a double negative.

In relation to your mentoring question, I think
most practitioners will be reluctant to allow you
to be in their room when they are working.  This
is because they have heard about all you and let’s
face it, you’re trouble!

Just kidding, couldn’t resist.  They will be
reluctant because of the intimate nature of the
work and the trust that builds up between the
therapist and patient.

One way around this is for you to bring the
experienced practitioner into YOUR session.  Bring
a patient to their rooms and work with them as
they tune into what you are doing.

You can do this in two ways.  You can bring
someone you have been practicing on.  Someone who
is NOT ill.  You can get feedback about specific
techniques from your mentor as you are doing the
technique.  You can use this way to get feedback
about any aspect of your practice that you are
unsure about.   Obviously the person you bring
will need to be very comfortable with hearing
where you need improvement.

Don’t bring a fellow student or therapist.  I
have found that their intention makes it very hard
to assess what is going on.  For example, if you
are getting feedback about your frontal lift, then
person’s intention will be involved immediately in
lifting their frontal bone.  For that reason it is
better to bring someone who knows nothing about
cranio.

The second way is to use your mentor as a
‘second opinion.’  For this you would be bringing
one of your own patients.  You can get your
mentors help in a couple of different ways.  They
can tune into the person and help you deepen and
enhance your sense of what the root cause of the
problem is.

You can have your mentor tune in as you treat
the person.

You can treat the person and have your mentor
work with you as your assistant.

You can have your mentor be the lead therapist
and you act as their assistant.

In all the different permutations of this
second way the common thing is that you don’t
discuss the person in front of them.

The only thing your mentor should say to the
person is to confirm whichever aspect of your
treatment are going in the right direction and add
the different expanded bits they may want to add.

Anything else won’t be appropriate.  Talking
about technique and how you can improve will
undermine you in the eyes of your patient.

The thing to remember is that they are your
patient.  They have come to you because they
recognise that you can help them.  I don’t mean
this in a territorial way but more on a larger
scale about how patients find who they need.

And yes, I do mentoring.

Speaking of which, I intend to include a list
of mentors in addition to the therapist lists  I
have on my websites.  Being a mentor basically
means making yourself available for a student on a
one to one basis.

You should get paid for it at the very least
what you charge for treating people.  Time wise
that is.  Let me know if you are interested in
being included in the mentor list.

***QUESTION***

I am Training in craniosacral therapy, a friend
has shingles around the sacrum, in the past she
had shingles on the brain and almost died. Do you
suggest any holds or ideas on treatment.
Thank you M – Australia.

MY COMMENTS:

Shingles is one of those conditions that evoke
the hands thrown up in horror kind of response.
Like the poor person has got something strange,
foreign or alien that the rest of us don’t have.

So just in case you didn’t know – if you’ve had
chickenpox as a child you will have latent
varicella zoster virus lying dormant in your
dorsal root and cranial nerve ganglion.

Should it become activated it will travel down
your axon causing a lot of pain along the way and
finally erupt on the surface of your skin in very
painful blisters – and at that point it will be
called shingles.

SHINGLES!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!

Once you understand this then you can see that
the question you need to be asking yourself is why
has this person’s immune system become so low as
to allow the reactivation of this virus.

One thing that can do it is stress.  Physical
stress like working too much and not playing and
working some more and still not playing and
generally being a dull boy.

What I have seen more often is emotional
stress.  The kind of impossible emotional dilemma
sort of stress like being sick of taking care of
the kids but having no way out.  Hating the job
but needing the money.  Not wanting to take care
of the aging parent but not wanting to put them in
a home either.

Another useful question to ask yourself is, ‘Of
all the symptoms this person could have got, why
did they get such a painful one?’  I’ve never had
shingles myself but from what I am told and have
felt, it is very painful.

The good news is you are in with a winning
chance from the get go.  As you know cranial work
has this wonderfully soothing effect on the
nervous system.  All that focus on the cerebro
spinal fluid and still points and what not.

Because shingles is closely involved with the
nervous system it can respond very quickly.  The
person should get enough of a relief to think that
this cranio thing is top notch and will keep
coming to see you as you both work through the
deeper, less fun, if I can use that expression,
reasons why they had these particular symptoms in
the first place.

Lastly, a high proportion of people who get
shingles are over 50.  I bring this to your
attention because their immune system may simply
be clapped out from years of abuse.

That’s it for this issue.  I wish you a very merry
Christmas and a fantastic new year.

Cheerio for now.

Till the next time.

Your Mate,

John D.

March 3 – 2008

Questions and comments for this issue:

+ From Tammy in Washington.
+ From Peni in Cape Town.
+ From Nica in Berlin.
+ From Georgette in South Africa.
+ Frederic Cherri looking for Therapists to go and work in New Zealand.
+ From Barb in New Zealand
+ CST and anorexia?
+ Poem sent in by Sarah Willoghby
+ Drowning trauma and flailing arms?

Hello,

It’s a packed newsletter this month, with a
possibly life changing email in it for you.
That is if you want to go and live and work in New
Zealand.  Having been there I can tell you it is
beautiful!

If you are one of the people who have been
gently emailing me wondering when your therapist
profile is going to be up, I’m happy to tell you
that it is.  Have a look for yourself here

http://www.open-source-cranio.com/therapists/listing.html

If you can’t find yourself,
. . . meditation is often a good place to start.

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

If you can’t find yourself, on the listing, and
you have sent me your details then send me another
email gently wondering what the hell is going on.

If you would like to be added to the listing
send me an email and I will send you back the
general information I include.

For myself, I was quite the cranio social
butterfly last month.  I met up with Nica Berndt-
Caccivio when I was in Berlin. She has sent in a
letter which you can read below.

No, it doesn’t start with, ‘Dear Mr Dalton, As
a result of your behaviour I have been banned from
the bar we met in. . .’

Later in the month I met up with Orla Foley in
Dublin.

It’s very good to meet up with other therapists
and I encourage you to do it whenever possible.
Regardless of training and experience it is always
refreshing to discover how much you have in common
in your approach and that was certainly the case
with Nica and Orla.

You can see some happy snaps of both here.

http://www.open-source-cranio.com/sacral-training/social-page/

If you want to see what therapists are near
you, have a look at the ‘Find a therapist’ part of
my web sites.

http://www.open-source-cranio.com/therapists/listing.html

And finally, I’ve been blown away by the
response to the launch of my Wellness Detective
Manual Updates.

Not counting the emails I have received and the
upsurge in subscriptions to the Updates, I have
also received quite a number of comments from
people who are using the different perspectives in
their own lives.

Comments, not private emails, public comments
posted on the site.  I am so impressed that people
would take the risk of sharing this kind of
personal information with the intention that it
might be of help to others.
You can read them at the bottom of the article here.

http://www.wellness-da.com/detective/why-is-change-difficult/

Now, if you were one of the people who emailed
me wondering what to do with the ‘Wellness
Detective Updates’ email, all you have to is click
on the link in that email, to start receiving
updates.  If you have deleted that email you can
still get the updates but you will need to
subscribe on the website.

So far you will have missed out on the article,
about why we find change so difficult.   It
includes some pictures of me in Berlin too. You
can see it here. . .

http://www.wellness-da.com/detective/why-is-change-difficult/

and you can also register on that page too.

Rightio, let’s get on with this gargantuan mailbag.

***FROM TAMMY IN WASHINTON***

John;

I am a newbie to craniosacral therapy, I received
my certification one year ago from Beth “The
Goddess” Cachat. I love this work.

Thank You so much for voicing this stuff about
responsibility and really listening to our bodies
and being your OWN wellness detective. I am
creating a website and expressed some of this on
my text and my website designer cast me a glance
and said one word, “gutsy”. I put the project
aside.

There is value in being supportive and nurturing;
however, I feel that my patients are missing the
attitude somehow, they prefer to remain passive or
locked in their current pattern even though they
are coming to me saying they want change in their
bodies. I am figuring out what my part is in all
of this. It is quite a project. Thanks for your
voice, you seem to be speaking what is bubbling up
for me.

Looking forward to receiving the book to loan to
my clients!

Regards

Tammy McLendon CST, LMP
Washington.

MY COMMENTS:

Hello Tammy and thank you for your supportive
words.

Yes, the ‘Fix Me!’ mentality is deeply
ingrained.  I see it as part of our work to help
ease people, in some cases kicking and screaming,
into a more responsible perspective.  It goes with
the cutting edge territory we have chosen.

I hadn’t heard of Beth Cachat before but from
what I have since read she sounds great.  I love
that, Beth ‘The Goddess’ Cachat, thing.  I think I
should adopt it too.

Let’s see, John ‘The God’ Dalton.
No, I don’t think I could back that up.
How about, John ‘The Demigod’ Dalton.
Alliteration, curses!
John ‘The Hands’ Dalton?  The Mouth?

Oh, I can’t decide.  I know, I’ll have a
competition.  Send in your suggestions,
for me or yourself and I’ll feature them in the
next newsletter and the winner gets a free place
at my right hand.

What?

***FROM PENI IN CAPE TOWN***

Hello John
I’m truly excited about receiving my first news
letter – Thank you!
No, I don’t have any leftover headaches from any
new year’s hangovers…..becoming wise (and
boring) in my young age. However, I promised
myself to celebrate life much more this year

The idea of mentor sounds good. How exactly do I
go about registering ?

I’m still getting a feel of how the articles are
written so that when I do contribute it will be
short and to the point.

With regards cancer patients.
I’ve only seen a few and not over long periods of
time.

I would rather work with clients who are in
remission but this is not always the case.

My approach is with great respect and caution. I
always check in with the client’s ‘Inner
Physician’ to see whether it is appropriate for me
to work with the client.
Also, I ask that the area of concern to be ‘walled
off’  if necessary, while the rest of the body can
receive the benefits of CST. I trust this process
implicitely.

A friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer (now
in remission) which resulted in a mastectomy is
now busy having reconstructive surgery. She came
for CST session purely for the experience as she
now councils women with breast cancer and would
like to be able to give them as much information
re well being as possible.

I was guided by her ‘IP’ to avoid the area which
is being reconstructed which I duly did and
continued to address the rest of her body.
She felt the benefits of the session strongly.
This prompted her to invite me to speak to the
women about CST and its benefits which I’ll be
doing in a few months time.

Another client diagnosed with a cancerous brain
tumor and medical science can no longer assist
him.
He has adjusted his life accordingly and is doing
pretty well on his own. He asked me for a CST
session and only received one treatment which he
found very beneficial. As yet, he has not been
back for more.

re focal dystonia – Unable to comment as I’ve not
had anyone as yet.

re shingles – I’ve had an attack of shingles and
was lucky to detect it before it was full blown.
Immediately saw my GP (who is also a Homeopath and
practices Chinese medicine) who gave me
acupuncture directly into the ‘alarmed’ area.  I
did some self help at home by using the ‘cranio
balls’ 15mins a day and recovered within 2 days.

Treating family members: personally prefer not to
treat my own family if a serious case as I feel we
are emotionally ‘hooked in’ which can get in the
way.

Smells: This one for Gayle (i should tell her
myself)…some time ago I was picking up alot of
smells during  clients sessions -they weren’t
pleasant smells. Since I was unable to understand
what they were about, I asked a colleague of mine
who flatly said -
‘I don’t know, I can’t help you….perhaps you
should wear a nose peg’ . the mind boggles !

Since then have not had those smells but have had
a smell which triggered a past life for a client
(she smelt it as well) …..oh,could go on and on,
but won’t !

Until next time,
be well

Peni
Cape Town

MY COMMENTS:

Thank you for all that Peni. To register as a
mentor just let me know you are interested and I
will add you to the list I am putting together. It
will be going on the web site in the next couple
of months.

For myself, I have always felt cancer to be
part of the person’s body and different to a virus
or bacterial infection, which feels alien to the
person’s system.  So the idea of walling off the
cancer doesn’t really come up for me.

Physically cancer feels to me like the body
reverting back to being one cell type.  Just like
is was in the hours after conception.
Just one type of cell.

Cancer feels like the whole body trying to
become one type of cell again, what we call a
cancer cell but one type of cell none the less. It
always strikes me as symbolic of a desire for more
simplicity.

As I’ve said before in other newsletters

http://www.open-source-cranio.com/sacral-training/cancer/

what I focus on more are the reasons behind why
the persons system might be doing that.

It sounds like you are doing good work with the
people you are treating with cancer related issues
and best of luck with your talk in a few months.

***FROM NICA IN BERLIN***

dear john,

here some thoughts for -maybe-the next newsletter:

cancer:
my experience with women after a breast-cancer and
chemo-treatment is very positive. the gentle touch
and the immune system-support treatment is helping
them to release again their body, to trust their
body, to believe in their body and sometimes even
to love their body again.

so its a lot concerning the psychological support
to these women after the very aggressive  chemo-
treatments. -I am always working very slow and
very very careful. just observing how much space
the client needs. usually a lot!

parents:
there i have right now the situation that my dad
has serious problems with his heart.
he did not contact me for any help, but during our
phone calls.. i live in berlin and he in
switzerland… happens regularly a lot.
what I mean: at the phone he asks me for example
if I would have an advice for him what to do when
he is afraid to hear his heart not beating
regularly.

then I give him “small tasks” like “touching and
talking” to his heart….and: he reacted very open
and positive!
a few days later I send him a letter with the same
things again (important to open the door-but not
too wide…)and things like for example:
“if it helps you, you can draw a picture from your
heart”.
heart ,4 words:
hear
heat
art
ear
(out of hugh milne book nr.1)

he was very open and right now his heart is
supporting him again…

thats it!
sorry for my english!!!!!!!!

greetings out into the cranio world from berlin!
nica

Nica Berndt – Caccivio
Berlin

MY COMMENTS:

Thanks for that Nica.  As I said above, it was
very nice to meet you in person when I was in
Berlin.

‘Important to open the door-but not too
wide…’  I like that, very wise.

***FROM GEORGETTE IN SOUTH AFRICA***

Hi John,

Yes I have treated a lady with breast cancer
receiving chemo and radiation as well as
homeopathic support.
Although the cranio sessions were supportive, not
trying to fix anything, she released a lot but
never had a healing crisis afterwards.
We talked a lot about a positive attitude, healthy
food, fun in live and death.
Unfortunately she passed away but I know that
Cranio helped her to leave smoothly.
As you say, she choose her departure.

Talking now about my client with shingles, he had
3 cranio sessions and in between came on the
magnetic blanket 3 times a week for 3 weeks.
The lesions have completely subsided, he doesn’t
feel any discomfort anymore.

Cheers.
Georgette

MY COMMENTS:

Thanks for that Georgette.  It is never easy
when someone you have been treating dies.  I am
sure your treatments and your presence made the
final part of her life so much easier.

***FROM FREDERIC CHERRI IN NEW ZEALAND***

“… The Craniosacral Clinic & Institute of New
Zealand is looking for 1 or 2 experienced
practitioners to come and help us launch another
brand new clinic.

We can arrange with local immigration and for the
right applicant a working visa. Ideally we would
like for the applicant to stay and work with us
for 6 months (12 is possible). If the applicant
has or desire to acquire an assistant experience
on an existing 2-year Training Course, there is a
possibility to integrate one of our Trainings in
an assisting capacity.

We need a couple of confident and experienced
practitioners (minimum of 2 to 3 years of regular
clinical practice).  You will recognise yourself:
adaptable, ease with people of all walks of life,
skills and passion for the work !!!, travellers or
adventurers and fun lovers (NZ IS a great place to
live! ask me I have been here 15 years).

We will make it worth your while in adventure
whilst over here. If you already have a specialty
or a passion for some specific aspects of CST
(perinatal, pediatrics, immune or any other topic)
it will be even better as we are developing
clinical aspects and research in these fields.

We can help with Immigration as well as
accommodation. This clinic is also the
Headquarters for the Craniosacral Institute of New
Zealand (www.csti.co.nz) with a planned Student
clinic, and on-going supervision. We already have
2 trainings on the go.

The intention is to have a CST only clinic with 3
to 4 full time practitioners.

Please contact Frederic Cherri at any time:
Email: info@csti.co.nz
Ph: +64 9 3760 963
Mob: +64 21 640 660 …”

***FROM BARB IN NEW ZEALAND***

Hi John
Thank you for another ‘right rivetting read’.
Much to digest as usual.  I love folklore so I
also thank you for that insight into the ways of
the Kings of yore.  I consider myself to be pretty
damn special too so quickly checked my diary to
see exactly when I came ‘splat’ off my bike -
phew, the relief – the 13th!

Having not hurt myself since 1990 (pretty jammy
really) it was fascinating to experience my
assessment of the accident as it happened,
immediately post, and then during recovery. Though
craniosacral therapy works best with the attention
of another practitioner I have to say that in
emergencies your own hands are the next best ones.

I feel I did some really good work with myself.  I
covered all the basics and the bits that hurt, and
then a little thought popped into my head.

I replayed my acrobatic arc into the air,
registering that instead of traveling forward I
was suddenly traveling sideways.  I realised I was
moving so fast I was unlikey to lose much skin as
I was coming down like a ton of bricks (I really
must lose those extra kilo’s) and unlikely to
skid.  My body streched out fully (why? to spread
the impact?). I landed hard on my right side
taking the brunt of the impact on the ribs below
my armpit, my head crashed onto my arm then my
right hip touched down – hardly even a bruise
there – a lovely purple imprint of the rough seal
on my side though.

Now the little thought that popped into my head
was about my sternum – that had to be the big
bounce point.  I put my hands their even though
there was no pain.  Now here’s what I love, though
there was as yet no discomfort, the sense of
relief was huge.

I had stretched every muscle from my hips up, even
those little ones under your chin (I’m sure the
workout did that area good), had left-ear-ache for
two days and then the ribs kicked in for 10 days
or so.

My CST colleague was unfortunately away on holiday
for the first 8 days of recovery so I was my own
very best practitioner throughout.    The ribs
resolved at 2.24am with a winded sensation in the
right lung, quickly followed by a massive sense of
nausea and a sweat – all done and dusted in 15
seconds or less.

Clever old body, huh? So,  I can now get out a do
a little running as well now.  Oh, one other
thing, much and all as I wanted to get off the
road immediately to prevent the potential coup de
grace of being squished by a car, my body was
still assessing it’s function levels and would not
move as fast as I wanted.  Luckily for me, no
cars.

I look forward to your next installment.
Cheers
Barb
New Zealand.

MY COMMENTS:

Thanks for that Barb.  I think it is a great
description of what you can do if you have to.

***QUESTION***

Dear John,
I loved your article. I have
been learning and practicing cranio-sacral therapy
for the past year and have had lots of amazing
results. I didn’t know what it was but was drawn
to it and am so grateful.

I was just wanting to ask your advice about
anorexia. I am seeing a girl next week who is a
friend of the family who will be undergoing
treatment at Flinders Medical Centre here in
Adelaide Australia for her anorexic condition.

I am wondering what has been your experience with
these type of people.  I am expecting that there
will be some cranial compression. I want to
monitor her CSF rhythm. I want to balance the
cranio-sacral system and all of the cranial bones.

Have you got any interesting case histories you
could tell me about or advice to treat this
person?
Attached is my photo so you know who you are
talking to

Yours sincerely
Laney Thomas

MY COMMENTS:

Hello Laney,
I have found anorexia to be like a mixture of
drug addiction, obsessive-compulsive behaviour and
self-harm.

I approach people with anorexia in the same way
I would any person with a destructive addiction.

‘Are there constructive addictions?’

Here is my experience of the way addictions
work.  There is a pain inside that we really don’t
want to look at and the object of our addiction
helps us avoid having to look at that pain.

The most obvious example of this dynamic in
action is alcohol or drugs. Both of which give a
very pleasurable distraction from the pain.

Addictions can take many forms and we all have
addictions of one kind or another.  Whether it’s
chocolate, soap operas, sex, charity, work,
shopping, exercise, model train sets, knitting or
any of the many other things I do on Saturdays, it
is the same dynamic. A pleasant distraction from
the pain.

‘Isn’t that a rather bleak perspective?’

Yes, but it stops you from separating yourself
from people with destructive addictions, which is
an easy thing to do.

‘I don’t know what is wrong with these people?
I have no addictions’, kind of thing.

I think it is easier to access your compassion for
these people if you do a bit of looking around on
the inside and realise that the mechanics of
addiction are at work in you on a small scale.
The difference is the order of magnitude.

That way, when you look at someone with a
destructive addiction you can look at how much
damage their addiction has done in their life and
that will give you an idea of how big the pain is
they are trying to get away from.

So how does the addiction dynamic work with
anorexic people?

Well it is subtle because there is no obvious
benefit but the underlying dynamic will be the
same.

They will be using the not-eating to avoid a
bigger pain. Being open to seeing what that pain
is will help a lot.

Look at the level of disruption and pain the
anorexia is causing in this girl’s life and it
will give you an indication of how much bigger the
pain is she is distracting herself from is.

I suggest you start from a perspective of
respecting her decision to choose the lesser of
two pains, which in this case is her anorexia.

The symptoms are digestive so I would start
there.  That is where I would have me intention
though my points of contact would initially be far
from there as it has been my experience that
people with anorexia are highly sensitive around
their abdomen.

***FROM SARAH WILLOGHBY***

Below is a poem sent in by Sarah Willoghby.
Depending on how you feel about poetry you will be
either groaning and rolling your eyes or
pleasantly surprised.  I am including it because I
like the way it talks about being with someone who
is in pain.

Let me know what you think.

The Invitation
by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon…
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

***QUESTION***

Dear John….

18 months ago a Body Stress Release therapist sent
a young boy to me, aged 6yrs.  He has recurring
‘flailing arms’ and his parents have had him
checked out by medical professionals but they
can’t find a problem.

During his first visit, a lot of persuasion was
needed to get him to lie down – he is happy but
very active – mom was good at ‘bribing’ him with a
promise to buy a treat,  which worked.
Very little was done in this session but it
certainly resulted in him being a lot calmer and
the arms no longer flailing about.

Some months later he had another flair up so once
again mom brought him to me.
This time he was happier to be on the bed and a
lot more co operative. Again, a release was felt.

Since he was undergoing BSR therapy it did not
feel right to impress upon the family to bring him
in more regularly.  The releases seemed to hold
for a long time and I then realised that when he
was under stress, the flailing arms started up.

I saw him last week, now 71/2 yrs old. Initially
he was quite wriggly, moving about a lot – again
in need of persuasion to just be still.. I was
drawn to his lungs and that is when mom told me of
a near drowning at age 2yrs.. His cranial base was
tight and painful for him. As gently as possible,
I managed to release it.

Corrections were made for flexion and right side
bend lesions to the Sphenoid.  Temporals were
cleared and that is when he went into a very deep
sleep. Actually, so did mom. She dropped her head
onto the bed and fell asleep.

During his sleep state I just sat with one hand
under his head, the other under the sacrum
monitoring his csr.

When he awoke his words were ‘WOW mom, that was a
good sleep’. I suggested another session in a
weeks time and he wanted to know how long a week
was. Her reply ‘about 7 sleeps’ His reply ‘ no,
can we make it in 5 sleeps or 3 sleeps’.  I then
said ‘you have your son back’. This was very clear
to me and to her and most of all, to him.

My feeling is that when he is stressed, be it at
school or even at home he could be recalling the
near drowning – the arms flapping to keep abreast.

John, could you or any one else comment on
flailing arms?

Thank you

Kind regards

Peni – (Cape Town)

MY COMMENTS:

It sounds to me like you are on the right track
here Peni.  When I think about trying to stay
afloat in water, I automatically feel my arms
wanting to move.

It is a great case and a great example.

I could go on all night but we are at the end
of this issue.

Cheerio for now.

Your Mate,

John D.

April 5 – 2008

Questions and comments for this issue:

+ Report from Al Pelowski about the role cranio is playing in the Boikarabelo Orphans Eco-Village Cranio Project in South Africa.
+ CST and orthodontic work?

Hello,

I was sent a very interesting video recently.
It is of a talk given by neuroanatomist, Jill
Bolte Tatlor.  In the video she describes her
experience of having a stroke and how it changed
the way she viewed the brain, how it works and who
we are.

It was obviously a powerful experience for her
and at times she is quite emotional.  You can see
it here. http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/229
I am very interested to know what you think of it.

I also want to let you know about an update
over at the Wellness Detective Agency, about money and going broke doing
what you love.  It’s not like there are any cranio
sacral therapists going broke . . . but I thought
you might be interested.

http://www.wellness-da.com/detective/do-what-you-love-and-go-broke/

If you’re not subscribed to the Updates already
you can subscribe on that page too.  Audio updates
are in the works and should be out within the next
week.

And finally, I was heartened to see that Dr.
Darlene Ertha gave a talk last month to The
American Holistic Nurses Association.  The title
of her talk was,  ‘Exploring Nature’s Blueprint:
Fractals, Pathways, Meridians, and the Collective
Unconscious.  Bringing It All Together In Hands-On
Healing.’

Quite a lot to fit on a poster, I know.  In her
talk she described how cranio sacral therapy,
among others, made use of universal patterns to
alleviate intractable pain and heal body, mind,
and spirit.

Now that we’re feeling all warm and fuzzy,
let’s get on with the mailbag.

*** BOIKARABELO ORPHANS ECO-VILLAGE ***

Hello John,
An idea for linking the Boikarabelo Orphans Eco-
Village Cranio Project

http://www.boikarabelo.org/

The Boikarabelo orphans village is located about
100km NW of Joburg in the Magaliesburg.  I was
wondering if it might be a good test site for your
idea of getting cranio into the world’s villages.
Just thinking really…

There are 90+ children in a surrounding
‘informal village’ of some 1000 people (refugees,
the displaced and isolated).  All of them are
orphaned or abandoned, most are severely
truamatised (e.g., nearly all the girls have been
raped; maybe half the kids are or were
malnourished; many are burdened with HIV and other
opportunists; and most carry unresolved alarm or
shock survival behaviours–ADHD, anorexia,
learning disorders, autisms–compounded by
toxicity from vaccinations and pollution).

We are fortunate to have 3 student practitioners
living there, and cranio is a crucial part of a
therapeutic mix including homeopathy, nutrition &
chelation, counselling and lots of patience &
love.

Today, Sunday 30 March, there were 8 of us
practitioners working, and we saw about 30 of the
kids, most of whom have had several sessions and
settle into it quickly.  Quite a few end up in
deep sleep so we leave them on the table at one
end and bring on the next at the other end.  The
kids literally queue up for treatment, even if
they are not scheduled for it.

Being held cranially is a big hit out there,
thanks to the regular sessions they get with our
resident practitioners.  When a child is lost in
shock or fighting all the time in alarm we find
that cranio holding works best to re-establish a
secure bond and thus initiate their healing,
gradually bringing in the other modalities.

Some time ago a visiting woman from Europe went
away inspired and then sent the community 20 new
desktop computers.  They are ready to be linked
into a server and used in the school they run on
the premises.

In SA far more people live in ‘informal
settlements’ on the fringe of cities than in
traditional countryside villages.  The challenge
here as well as in Africa as a whole is to make
entirely new homes/communities for millions of
kids with nowhere else to grow.

The Malawi Children’s Village (with which I am
also involved) is one way this is being
approached, and Boikarabelo is another.  I plan to
visit Malawi in the dry, July perhaps.  I’ll
report on MCV after that visit.

Boikarabelo does have more problems but also
more going for it than almost any other village I
can think of in all Africa.  So much goes on
there, births, deaths, new arrivals all the time,
crisis after crisis as you can imagine.  But
despite all the challenges, the aim is not only to
provide a basic home and identity for the kids,
but to give them the very best in life skills and
turn the situation into an educational advantage..

I could go on..and on..what do you think?

Al.

MY COMMENTS:

What do I think?

I think you’re a bloody legend!

I think the therapists working with you are
bloody legends!

I think the people who run the place are bloody
legends!

If ever somewhere needed more cranio sacral
therapists it would be there.  It’s the sort of
place my Open Source Cranio idea is all about.
Getting cranio sacral training information to
where it is desperately needed.

***QUESTION***

Hi John,

Thanks for your reply to my letter regarding
cancer in the New Years Newsletter.
As to what to call you how about the “enlightened
one”?
Your reply to my question made me laugh but if I
had received it a few weeks earlier I would have
cried, can I remind you of your words

“the chances of you giving yourself a major
fright and setting you palpatory skills back years
is very high.

For example, let’s say you go against your
teachers/mentors recommendation and start treating
someone who is in the middle of dealing with
cancer.
And let’s say they have a major episode the day
after you treat them and end up in hospital.

Take a minute and think about how you would
feel.  Can you imagine how difficult it would be
to stay objective about your contribution to their
being in hospital.  Can you imagine how hard it
would be to avoid putting yourself through the
wringer wondering if your intention was too heavy
or too light, how you could have missed what was
coming and so on.”

Well I can tell you how I felt !!, my Aunt had
been given the all clear following Non hodgkinson
and all the horror that the treatments entailed,
bald and full of life she stayed with us for a
week over xmas on the day she was leaving I asked
if she would like to try some cranio (are you
wincing?) her system did not react and as I had
not practiced for some weeks thought it was me so
pushed the intention a bit harder but all she got
was a nice still point and a vision of a being in
a crater looking at the blue sky (that made me
wince!). She phoned me 3 days later to say she had
not been out of bed since she got home she could
not stay awake (but she felt good) I told her to
go to the Drs asap! she had no white cells and was
very close to dying.

So how did I feel! all of the above! my teacher
was on holidays but when I finally contacted her
she believed the cranio probably brought it to the
surface alot faster. My Aunt is doing alot better
they think she is one of the rare ones that get a
reaction to some injection they give post Chemo,
but they also discovered her heart and lungs are
stuffed from the Chemo! I offered her Cranio and
we both laughed (but I don’t think either of us
will go there!)

I have been going through all your archives a
couple at a time as it makes my head hurt! so many
questions!

So I will start with; I read about your case
study, the girl you helped with facial disorders,
my 18yr old son has a protruding lower Jaw they
have done one lot of orthodontic work and are now
waiting until he stops growing to operate on the
lower jaw to pull it back ( a nasty sounding
operation) and then a couple more years of braces
to correct the bite. Do you believe that cranio
could stop the jaw coming forward anymore and even
better bring it back slightly? and my daughter 15
has had two years of braces but because she had to
a have a baby tooth removed that had no adult
tooth to replace it they expect she will have
braces for two more years! Do you believe cranio
can really help in these situations, I have read
in some of the Cranio books to seek out a
orthodontist that works with Cranio but I don’t
think there is such a person in Australia? I asked
my orthodontist and he was very “polite” “what
the?!!!”

Many thanks
God opps John
Karen
Australian

MY COMMENTS:

Hello Karen,
Thanks for sharing your experience about your
Aunt.  It must have been awful for you.  Our
palpatory skill is a wonderful but fragile thing.

I’ve had a few emails from different people
asking about orthodontic work and cranio sacral
therapy and since both your questions are about
that too, I’ll kill the few birds, humanely of
course, with one stone and answer them all
together.

Can cranio sacral therapy really help in these
situations?

Hell, yes.

Let’s start with the basics. Teeth are
basically bone and contrary to common perception,
bones ain’t bone china.  Bone is plastic and wet
and it grows and most importantly responds to the
pressure it is placed under and adapts.

Wolf’s law and all that, don’t you know.

What’s Wolf’s law?

Wolf’s law states that the son of two wolves is
equal to the son of the bears on the other two
hides. . . or . . something . . like . .that.

It basically means that bone will adapt to the
loads it is placed under.

That is how they can dig up someone from a
thousand years ago and from a careful study of the
shape of the bones of their forearm, work out that
the person used to be a charioteer.

The fact they were buried in a chariot helped
but it was the bones, Jim, the bones.

So just because our teeth are sitting in bone
and our bite is essentially made of bone that
doesn’t mean that it is fixed for all eternity.

When you think about, that’s what Orthodontists
are kind of banking on.

From our perspective, you could think of braces
as being like a form of direct technique, carried
out over a numbers months or years.

When I think of our ‘bite’, and this is
probably because I used to be a carpenter, I
always think of the mandible as being like a door
and the temporo mandibular joints as being like
the hinges of the door, with the temporals and the
maxillae making up the doorframe.

Thinking of it like this helps keep all the
different parts in their rightful place.

The mandible is roughly solid.  Yes, I know it
used to be in two parts and in some ways still
behaves as if it is but compared to everything
else involved that still ARE in separate parts, it
helps to think of it as solid. . . like a door.

So if a person’s bite is off it is probably not
the mandible itself but the temporals or the
maxillae.

Because if the doorframe is not straight the
door will keep banging on the frame and never
close properly.

Now let’s look at the two examples you gave.

You write that your son’s lower jaw is
protruding.  The first thing I would ask myself is
why is it doing that? Is the mandible sticking out
or is the face pushed in? or is a bit of both.

I would palpate his whole face and try and get
a sense of what the overall pattern was.

Once you do that you can begin to look at the
hinges and the doorframe.   For example: There
could be a pattern where his temporals are
torsioned anteriorly and inferiorly in a kind of
temporal nose dive and this in turn could have the
knock-on effect of pushing his mandible
anteriorly.

Or both his maxillae could be driven
posteriorly.

If it is in the temporals I would treat it with
indirect technique.

If it is his maxillae I would treat it with a
combination of indirect and then direct technique.
Indirect to follow into the pattern and help it
release then direct because the influence of the
cranial rhythm is weaker in the maxillae and they
can need a little help getting where they want to
go.

If the maxillae are driven posteriorly you will
need to assess the palatines and help them release
too if the pattern goes back that far.  You will
also need to look at how the sphenoid is affected
by this pattern, particularly the pterygoid
plates.

With your daughter, it sounds like they are
trying to even out the gap left by the extraction.

Again, I would palpate her whole face and try
and get a sense of an underlying pattern that
might have caused the situation.

If nothing major presents itself, it may be a
case that her body doesn’t register the situation
in her mouth as being a problem.  This would make
you work a lot more difficult and require a lot
more direct technique.

Assuming that your daughter’s braces are not
fixed, you can work on the teeth individually.
You can take each tooth and ‘unwind’ it.  That in
itself may begin to even out the gaps.

And finally, as a general note about working
with the mouth, the bite and teeth, it’s important
to rely on the fact that our body is NOT
predisposed to have a banging, jarring,
disharmonious bite. It wants to bite right.

All you have to do is help it. Having said that
I have found as a general rule that while bone is
responsive it can take a while for it to grow in
new directions and by a while I mean 2 to 4
months.

So that’s it for this issue.

Cheerio for now.

Till the next time.

Your Mate,

John D.

May 11 – 2009

Questions and comments for this issue:

+ Follow on comments about tinnitus
+ Will the Open Source Cranio training
materials be enough or do I need a school?
+ Is entrainment the same as hypnosis?

Hello,

You’ve wondered ‘What the bleep?’ You’ve discovered
‘The Secret.’   Well now get ready for ‘The Living Matrix.’
From what I have seen of the trailer it looks like a
combination of these two movies but focusing on health,
medicine and wellness.

I haven’t seen the full movie myself so let me know if
you have and what you thought of it.

And speaking of epic cinema check out my first
video podcast on YouTube and let me know what you think.

I have had such interest in my DVD Masterclass
series that I am exploring the possibility of making
it available online. Once you have a broadband
internet connection you will be able to watch them
online. This will make it much cheaper to see them
also.

Now, on with the mailbag.

***FOLLOW ON COMMENT FROM JUDAH LYONS ABOUT TINNITUS***

In answer to the question, ‘Have you had any
success with tinnitus?’ he answers. . .

Yes, somewhat successfully, but most clients in this
day and age don’t give me sufficient time to deal with it!

***FOLLOW ON COMMENT FROM SANDRA FEIST ABOUT TINNITUS***

Hi John

Re Tinnitus.

I have treated tinnitus where there have been great
results and other times, some brief relief. I also
always consider diet and suplementation, so here goes:
1. I agree with tight membranes impacting on the
bones and causing tinnitus.
2. Releasing the TMJ can ease tinnitus.
3. A clenched jaw impacts on the TMJ and then as
per point 2.
4. Kidney challenges also seem to affect tinnitus
and this fits with Chinese medicine of the
kidneys and ears being linked. I feel the
liver also plays a role.
5. Omega-3 essential fatty acids in high doses
can help enormously. I had a client whose
tinnitus eased at 3 Omega-3 a day and disappeared
at 6. I wondered what this was all about – could
there have been some arthritis or did the Omega-3
oils halp the membranes, brain etc.
6. Anti-malaria medication can cause tinnitus.

Warm regards
Sandy

>>>MY COMMENTS:

Thanks for that Sandy. All useful perspectives
on tinnitus.  I didn’t know that about anti-malaria meds.

***FOLLOW ON COMMENT FROM ESTELLE SAWYER ABOUT TINNITUS***

Hi John
I read life on man a few years ago found it to be
scary and imagined that I could feel all kinds of
creatures crawling on me for a couple of days.

On a serious note I love to meditate at night
before falling off to sleep and I do believe it
to be a great advantage to me while doing Cranio.
I have not treated tinnitus before but have
treated a lady who had gone to her GP because
she felt off balance all the time. She came
to me for Cranio, while I was holding into
her temporals I could actually feel that her
ears were off balance. The one ear was higher
and more posterior than the other and the ears
were truly trying to balance themselves out.

Just held in until there was complete calmness.

Loved hearing from you

Estelle Sawyer
South Africa

***QUESTION***

Dear John,
If I follow your materials and find myself
a mentor whom I see regularly, could I get the same
training as with a school on the Sunshine Coast which
is adverstising five day workshops nine times over two
years?
Kate Pascoe
Australia

>>>MY COMMENTS:

Hello Kate,
Probably the best person to answer this question
is your mentor. They would need to look over the
training materials provided here, which are as yet
very limited, and the school you mention and then
advise you as to what they think is the best option
for you considering the kind of cranio sacral
therapist you want to become.

If you particularly want to get a qualification
from the school you mention, you could approach
them and find out what their recognition of prior
learning criteria and costs are.

***QUESTION***

Dear John

Recently, a client expressed surprise about how quickly
his body fell into a deep state of relaxation after just
a few minutes of CST. He wondered whether I had hypnotised
him. I had never related hypnosis to CST before, but this
connection made sense. As I am not experienced with
hypnosis. I didn’t feel like I could comment on similarities
or differences between hypnosis and what occurs during a
CST session. I wasn’t sure how to answer him. Since then
I have thought about entrainment and how this may relate
to hypnosis. Can you shed any light on this subject?

Happy Easter and best wishes

Cathryn Nitschke
South Australia

>>>MY COMMENTS:

Hello Cathryn,
There is an aspect to the way John Upledger teaches
somato emotional release that is similar to hypnosis.
Specifically the part where the person has no recollection
of the session.

This kind of approach has never been my cup of tea.
Some restrictions release without there ever being a word
said. Other restrictions need to come through the person’s
consciousness.

I have had some people get off the table and tell me
they had no recollection of what happened even though we
spent much of the time talking. It happens rarely and any
releases achieved usually don’t hold.

I came to realise that if a person’s system is
indicating to me that a particular release needs to
come through their consciousness then that is what
needs to happen. Not a partial journey through the
consciousness that is forgotten as soon as
the session is over.

On reflection I came to see that this had to do with
the person needing to integrate whatever was revealed
to their consciousness in the release and they couldn’t
do that if it remained unconscious.

So, for me, there is no link with hypnosis and
entrainment or cranio sacral therapy and hypnosis
for that matter.

Entrainment is the melding of you and your
patient’s systems. Your cranio sacral rhythms become
synchronised. When you still point, they do and visa
versa. The depth you can achieve within yourself helps
them achieve greater depth.

Entrainment is deeply relaxing to a person’s system
because among other things you are listening to their
system in a way that it is unused to and it finds it
very soothing.

The other thing that came to mind from your letter
is that in the course of entraining you may be
inadvertently causing still points. This will make him
feel very relaxed. I say inadvertently because it
isn’t a good idea to actively induce still while
you are entraining.

The reason being that an induced still point causes
changes in the person’s system. When you are entraining
you are trying to get a sense of how the person’s system
is normally. So inducing a still point kind of defeats
the purpose.

And finally the fact that he mentioned the whole
hypnosis thing and put it to you that way would incline
me to think that he had something he wanted to release
but was anxious about what might be uncovered and was
looking for a safe way to do that. Just a thought.

So that’s it for this issue.

Till the next time.

Your Mate,

John D.